Boat Crash Off Catalina Island Kills Son of Former 49ers CEO

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A recovery effort was suspended Sunday evening for a person who went missing after a collision involving two vessels near Catalina Island that left one other person dead and three injured, officials said.

Michael Harris is seen in a photo from his Facebook page.

A man involved in the incident, reportedly the son of a former San Francisco 49ers CEO, was being mourned after his parents described their loss on social media.

"We were called early this morning that Michael died in a boating accident early in the morning while at Catalina when a speeding boat hit the boat he was in," Jan Johnston Harris wrote in a Facebook post, referring to her son Michael Harris. "He was out with all his dear friends and his beautiful girlfriend, Kelly."

The man's father, Peter Harris, wrote in a separate post that "Michael … was embarking on a career in psychology with passion, helping adolescents" before he was killed in the "wasteful and tragic event."

Watchstanders at the Coast Guard Sector Los Angeles-Long Beach Command Center received a report around 1:20 a.m. that a dinghy with five people aboard collided with a boat near Descanso Bay, about a quarter-mile from Casino Point, according to a Coast Guard news release.

One passenger aboard the dinghy was killed in the crash, while three injured passengers were taken by helicopter to UCLA Medical Center, the release stated.

Two of the passengers sustained minor injuries, while a third sustained a head wound. They remained hospitalized in unknown condition Sunday evening, a spokesman for the L.A. County Sheriff's Department's Avalon station said.

L.A. County lifeguards and sheriff's divers searched waters off Catalina Island for a boater who went missing after a crash on Sunday, Sept. 6, 2015. (Credit: Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department)

The fifth passenger was reported missing, prompting the Coast Guard to launch a 45-foot response boat from its Los Angeles station and a helicopter.

Additionally, four surface assets from Baywatch Isthmus, Baywatch Avalon and Avalon Harbor Patrol were sent out to look for the missing person.

Lifeguards and sheriff's Special Enforcement Bureau divers used sonar during the search, the LASD said on Twitter.

Deputies from the Emergency Services Detail have also responded to the scene, according to a sheriff's news release.

A command point was established at Casino Point, which is located on the southeastern part of the island.

The search for the missing boater, described as a recovery operation, was suspended at sunset and was expected to resume at daybreak Monday, a sheriff's spokesperson said.

Few details have been released about the collision, but sheriff's officials described the incident as a "boating accident" in the release.